The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) has outlined new tools to support mining and metals companies to implement strong psychological health and safety practices into daily operations.
ICMM’s tools aim to reduce risk and help companies strengthen safety cultures to prevent harm.
Fatigue, isolation, job strain, bullying, and trauma exposure continue to affect workers at rates that outpace other sectors. ICMM says if left unaddressed, these issues can impact the health and safety of workers, as well as to wider impacts on workforce stability, operational performance, and the industry’s ability to attract and retain talent.
Psychological health in the mining industry is considered a significant concern, with research suggesting higher rates of anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges among fly-in-fly-out workers compared to other professions.
With the FIFO workforce predominantly male aged between 24 to 44 coupled with finding from Elliotts Australia, in which suicide being the number one killer of men aged between 15 and 44, it is easy to see a troubling picture emerge, as previously reported.
Mates in Construction found that suicide rates among mining workers is between 11% and 25% per 100,000 workers. Meanwhile, Safe Work Australia data shows out of 10,000 serious mental stress claims in 2021-22, more than 52% were due to work-related harassment, bullying, or work pressure.
In Australia, the current work-related injury rate totals 3.5%. However, there are still too many injuries and illnesses arising from work.
According to Safe Work, over the past 10 years, there have been more than 1,880 traumatic injury fatalities in Australian workplaces, and over 1,165,100 workers have made a serious workers’ compensation claim involving more than one week of working time lost.
As of 10 July 2025, two worker deaths are related to the mining sector, in comparison to 11 deaths occurring throughout 2024.
Based on a modular and scalable model, ICMM’s tools enable companies to adapt their implementation based on operational maturity, site context, and available capacity.
ICMM says it also supports the integration of psychological health and safety across multiple internal functions, including within existing risk management systems and linked to the same process and accountabilities that underpin physical health and safety.
CEO Rohitesh Dhawan says the new tools will expedite critically needed progress on strengthening safety cultures and supporting workers’ health and safety.
“Better psychological safety leads to better physical safety,” Dhawan says.
“ICMM’s new tools support progress at both local and organisational levels to build workplaces where people are not only protected, but supported to do their best work – in environments that are safer and more sustainable.”
The International Council on Mining and Metals brings together a third of the global mining and metals industry, along with key partners. Through collaboration, ICMM member companies strive for responsibly sourced minerals and metals in a safe and sustainable world.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: ICMM & Unsplash
